First Impressions
by Pinay Tiger
Summary: Collection of one-shots, drabbles, poems, etc. We see the reflection of Kenshin's life, as he interacts with the many people he encounters. Sometimes it takes a first impression. Varies with mild OOC-ness, AU, original plot
1. First Impressions

**Author's Note: OMG, it has been a sad 5 years since I did any writing, especially for fanfics of Rurouni Kenshin! This is supposed to be a one-shot to just get me back into writing. It's not supposed to be a continuation of anything. It is nothing special, and boy and I am so rusty. I do hope to continue my other stories soon! Enjoy. Please remember... this is a "COLLECTION" of writings, a "COLLECTION" of drabbles, a "COLLECTION" of one-shots, a "COLLECTION" of a bunch of crap. I did not want to create a new "story" as ff . net puts it for _EVERY_ one-shot I write. Would you know how frustrating it would be to see an author's profile, littered with HUNDREDS of one-shots because they uploaded a story as a new story everytime? Hence the aforementioned: COLLECTION of writings. =) Maybe I should call it an anthology? Some of the very last paragraphs also have a handful of lines that are replicates of lines from the first episode of the anime-so SPOILER warning.**

**Disclaimer: I really wish RK was mine, but then again I'd be the millionaire, wouldn't I? Watsuki's the true brain of all this!**

**First Impressions**

_Too cold..._

The fog that loomed over the waters of Tokyo Bay greeted the small boat that was soon to depart with its contents. It had been what seemed eons to the lone figure that stood with bright eyes surveying the nearing land. Try as it may, the Sun did little to claim its victory over the land, allowing the merciless fog to add a gloomy appeal to the city of Tokyo. Two, three, maybe even four years have passed since his last visit to this city. And oh the changes it has endured as a city in the last 10 years! But of course all of these changes came with large consequences that helped shape the now dormant nations of Japan. Though governmental unrest was a thing that would emerge gladly and unannounced, he admitted to himself it was a more peaceful time.

Amethyst eyes again surveyed the ever approaching dock and skyline of the city; what was a wanderer to do in a city as large as Tokyo? His stomach grumbled.

_This one would benefit from some food, that he would._

The wandering part was the easiest of all things. He never stayed too long in one place, or rather, was never comfortable; infact he knew not of true comfort. His presence-and that undeniably flaming red hair of his-was as fleeting as the wind. It was an art in it self, this wandering business. But to ask whether it was lonely would be a conundrum. A wanderer such as himself would have no business to open up to the world around him. Let alone a wanderer who had a sword to his hip.

It was never easy, he reminded, to keep that adoring Rurouni face his facade that begged no questions from onlookers to why a _sword_ was bound to him, or to even that distinct cross scar on his left cheek. But one could easily grow accustomed to a routine as simple as this: stay alert, smile, and remain calm. In the end, each face in the city was a passing pebble. It would be nice to have a place to call home, but there is no room for such pathetic feelings, especially when you were once the Legendary Man-slayer.

And the weight of the world is a heavy burden. Though the onslaught of dreams would be something to carry with him to the grave, atonement was a rather hard thing to achieve. But what was there to atone for? In his mind, it was for the countless lives that the Hitokiri Battousai took to better the state of Japan. But to those in feuding states, he was the benchmark that created the now peaceful Meiji. The once powerful sword of Battousai was now a thing of the past, his new-found sakabattou a different sword that protects lives, rather than the initial property of killing. He had surrendered to the life of a wanderer, searching for atonement in the form of helping those who were weak and oppressed. It just wasn't fair. All men deserved peace. But was he a man? No. He was a monster. No matter how much he lied to himself that he was the gentle wanderer, the unpredictable monster known as Battousai seethed beneath his persona; battling inwardly to control the two was an exasperating feat, that it was!

As the boat finally came to a rocking halt, Himura Kenshin stepped foot into the city of Tokyo. And as he heaved a sigh of relief (it was more a sigh of disparity), took dedicated steps and vanished into the gloom of the city.

"Well now," his warm and welcoming voice subtly announced, "I really should get something to eat."

Striding past dark alleyways, Kenshin stepped into a small beef hot pot restaurant. The warm array of scents and sights and definitely the faces of smiling people were an added amenity from day to day life. Everything was peaceful in the world around him, and without having had him as the Battousai to carve this new era with his sword, things would not have been as simple as they are now.

A curt nod of his head was enough to convince the waitress of what he wanted to eat. Allowing himself to settle in a more relaxed state, Kenshin sat with his back to the other occupants of the restaurant. Unbeknownst to the untrained eye, he remained alert as ever, his hearing and senses acute to his environment. He closed his eyes and smiled at the waitress as she put a small carafe of sake in front of him.

"Thank you very much," he afforded to the waitress, "this will definitely be a good time for some warm sake!"

As he gingerly poured himself a cup of the warm beverage, Kenshin was overhearing an argument among the other residents.

"I am telling you the truth!" A slightly crackled voice meowed. "That _Legendary_ man-slayer was found to have killed two more people today! I thought the life of the sword was dead with the Tokugawa Regime! How could anyone continue to kill-"

"For all we know, it's probably just some hoax! This is a time of peace now! Battousai the man-slayer is a ghost of the distant past!" A hoarser voice.

"It makes no sense!" More meowing. "How can it be that he is a 'ghost of a distant past' as you so blindly put it, when we have some crazed man running around killing for no reason!"

"It's not the _real_ Battousai, then, now is it?"

"Whazzat?" Kenshin could hear the affects of the sake wearing its potency on the man.

"The real Battousai killed for the better of Japan, not just to eliminate the streets of filthy dogs!"

"No matter what you say, I'm keeping my children out of the streets. Hoax or no hoax, this is a serious matter! Tokyo shouldn't have to suffer another bloody path!"

The lone wanderer inwardly agreed. This fake _imposter_ should be dealt with immediately. As Kenshin redirected his attention from the argument and back to his own train of thought, a generous bowl of soup was placed in front of him. With adoring eyes, and his stomach crying for sustenance, he ate his food.

"How is the food, sir?" a gentle, feminine voice checked in.

"Wonderful! I am eternally thankful for it, that I am!" He looked up at the aging woman who bowed out of respect. She met his smile with a friendly, though hesitant one.

"You know, I don't want to be a bother, but you don't look like a person from here."

"Wanderer..." he politely corrected.

"Excuse me?" Confusion laced her visage.

"I am a wanderer; that is why you don't know my face." He smiled. "I happened by the city of Tokyo, and as it had been years since my last visit, I felt it would be a change of pace for me. I suppose the country was too much for a while, and wouldn't you agree that watching a large city boom into life is very exciting?" He stood, and placed some money on the table, taking his sake into both hands, finishing what was left from the carafe.

"Well," she began, "it is a change from country life. It's just that you came to Tokyo at the wrong time. I don't know if you know, but there are rumors in the streets of a man slaying innocent people."

"And so I heard," he heaved. "The patrons on the other side of your gracious restaurant were kind enough to speak of the ills Tokyo is experiencing at the moment. It is an upset, believe me. But I feel I have nothing to worry about."

"But sir-"

"Himura. It's Himura Kenshin."

"Sir Himura," she advised, gathering the empty dishes, "That sword you so carelessly expose would make you a target." Kenshin propped his sake cup on the bowl she had picked up. "And the authorities are picking fights with men who carry swords. This is the 11th year of the Meiji; just remember that swords are banned."

"I understand your concerns, but I do little to draw attention to myself." And with one last smile and hooded eyes, Kenshin spun on his heel to exit the restaurant, his wild red hair trailing after him.

"One last thing," the elderly woman shot at him.

Kenshin stopped. "Yes?"

"At least do me the honors of allowing a pleasant stranger such as you the shelter of our humble restaurant. It's nothing special. Small, yet quaint if I do say so myself. Besides, a man such as you looks too frail and weak. Maybe a good night's rest will do you in. Plus you look like you could barely afford this dinner."

"Oro?" Kenshin asked with a quizzical look.

"Just come this way," the woman mused, smiling at Kenshin's burning cheeks, "and enjoy some hospitality for a change."

Kenshin was soon guided upstairs to a corridor of rooms. He chose the shoji door furthest on the left. And with a decisive slide of the closed door, he surveyed the room. All felt safe, and without hesitation he leaned his back against the wall adjacent to the shoji, his sword resting assuredly on his shoulder.

_A pleasant stranger, I am._ With those few words the last dying thoughts for the night, Kenshin allowed the hardship of sleep to seethe upon his tensed body. Sleep came hard to an assassin; however, it was even harder for a man who lived throughout the bloodiest of all revolutions with which Japan had witnessed. Within the hour, sleep came, and Kenshin had to suffer the dreams of his past for another night.

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Just as the Night was passing to day, Kenshin was up before anyone had stirred. Though the room was just like the elder had mentioned-quaint, small, yet all the more so comfortable-the tired wanderer felt it was time to thank the hospitable lady with silent appreciation and start his journey to nowhere. There was no need to tidy anything up; nothing had been used in the first place, and the futon on the bamboo matt lay the same as before, unused. Kenshin brushed his meager gatherings together, sword at hip, and padded stealthily through the corridor. Among the light snores and yawns of other occupants, he humbly smiled and thanked the gods for having such a caring individual as the aforementioned lady.

Taking one last glance over his shoulder, he placed a small note on a corner table with the simple words of "Thank you with all of my heart, the wanderer".

"It really is rude of you to just leave unannounced," a curt feminine voice cut through the silence. Kenshin stilled in his movements.

"I didn't want to be a bother, that I did not. I thank you for your kindness, but this unworthy one would best be on his way now." He smiled at her.

The old lady placed a vase of freshly picked flowers on the table near Kenshin's note. "Well, dear. Take care, and remember that maniac who has been killing people in the streets lately is still on the loose. And remember to try and enjoy all the little things. I noticed sleep came hard to you last night. And believe me when I say no one, and no one, is to be considered unworthy. Happiness is something entitled to all men, good and evil, pretty and ugly. Try to find happiness, and take care, Himura."

And with that, Kenshin left the small restaurant and continued on his trek.

The air outside in the city was still gloomy. This clammy weather had not let up, and it was indeed depressing that a beautiful city such as Tokyo could have such a monotonous aura about it. Nevertheless, Kenshin continued down a desolate dirt alley. Maybe the sun would come out later. No need in dwelling with pessimism, after all, he was just reminded he needed to find stability, if stability was a means to happiness. And indeed the sun would come out! Few sun breaks littered the ugliness which was the cloud; it was just a matter of time, just like happiness was a matter of time to soon set in his life.

He thought about this again, about trying to be happy. Better make the most of Tokyo. And before he could even finish his mindless inward ramblings, loud footsteps padded through the alley.

"Hold it right there! Don't move, Battousai the man-slayer!" a beautiful and innocent voice chimed.


	2. That Smile

**Author's Notes: Here is another one-shot written out of the blue over the last few days. I am terribly rusty. I have been on hiatus for over 5 years. So sorry if there are grammatical errors, anything seems wrong historically, or if I fail miserably on Japanese words. Things will change around a lot. Hence the one-shots. The themes/plots/scenarios/styles will not remain constant and will vary with my wanting to test a certain writing style over the other. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kenshin, but I am sure I have owned Battousai many times over in my dreams. Watsuki is the true mastermind behind the characters!**

**That Smile**

_He's hiding something from me; I can tell. I can see it in his eyes. I can see it in the way he regrettably smiles sometimes, especially when someone calls him the once _legendary _Hitokiri Battousai._

Kamiya Kaoru sat in the warm bath, contemplating about episodes which occurred in the much earlier hours of the dying day. Himura Kenshin had been gleefully staying at the Kamiya dojo a little over a month now. After the fake Battousai incident occurred upon their first meet, commotion had died to a dwindling degree of nothingness, and life in Tokyo commenced. Aside from picking up another resident-and a pick-pocket at that!-Kaoru half-heartedly admitted that this was a comforting pace of life, save for the fact that her not-so-strange _stranger _slew legions in the wake of the Meiji Government.

It wasn't enough to convince her, though! There had to be a reason why the red-headed Rurouni couldn't afford her a genuine smile. It may had been an ignorant feat on her behalf in thinking he would readily and willingly open up to her about his past, but that was too much of an expectation for a petulant girl. She made it apparent from the get go that his past was his own business, and that she had no viable place to judge him based on what his background consisted. And upon her announcing that she did not want to be alone, and offered him a place to stay, Kenshin smiled.

Letting a few thin, damp locks of ebony hair stray down her arm, Kaoru hugged her legs closer to her body. The water was too comforting, and damn that Kenshin for being able to get the bath at the right temperature everytime! If only he could be more honest with her everytime, she ruefully admonished. Could there have been something that made him keep a distance from her the way he did? Maybe it is because she was too frail, a woman, and that would hurt her to know.

"I don't get it! Does that idiot Kenshin think I am _that _weak? I _am _the first assisstant master of this dojo!" Her cheeks were fuming now. Maybe if she lingered for much more, the heat would inevitably do some damage to her head. "I'll show you, Kenshin! I will show you who is weak!" she reprimanded lightly, grabbing the washcloth adjacent to her. And she violently scrubbed the invisible dirt off her arms, wrenching the cloth in a manner that was meant to mimick her hands wrenching the Rurouni's neck. "Just you wait..."

"Hey, ugly!" Maybe Kaoru was letting the heat get to her head!

"I said, hey ugly! Don't you know that if you sit after a snack you get fatter? Nobody wants a fat girl!" Myojin Yahiko, the pick-pocket that Kaoru took in-or the Tokyo Samurai as he so confidently bestowed himself-was more than a prick to the side. Annoyance, ignorance, and the sheer fact that he was a kid was enough to establish a daily regime which included vicious head bashing with a certain bokken. He was, in simpler terms, asking for a fast and devastating route to his grave each and every insult he shot at Kaoru. "You have been sitting in there for over an hour! Kenshin won't cook cause he said it's your turn, and I know you're not the best of cooks, but a samurai has to eat!"

_Samurai, he calls himself. The nerve._ Kaoru just pretended to ignore him listlessly. Maybe the moron would grow some sort of brain if she ignored him completely and will go away defeated.

Yahiko began pounding on the wall of the bath. "I really don't want to have to wait any longer!" Kaoru's patience was running thin now, and Yahiko's incessant pounding on wood was driving her to her limits. Before she had a chance to stand and attack at Yahiko's neck, she heard another voice. A warm, soothing, calm voice.

"Yahiko. I will go ahead and make dinner. Kaoru-dono had a long day I am sure." Kenshin flashed a bright smile to the ten year old boy, and sauntered in the direction of the wood pile, picking up some stray pieces. Yahiko studied Kenshin's back while the red-head opened the small door to the fire of the bath, fueling the flames a little longer for Kaoru to enjoy.

Yahiko sighed. "Ok, it's better to eat good food than get poisoned I suppose." Kenshin merely smiled at the remark.

As the aspiring young swordsman turned on his heel, he smashed into something solid and warm. Sanosuke smacked him. "Watch where you are going!" the tall man interjected.

Sagara Sanosuke, an ex-gangster and former fight merchant, had befriended the Kamiya dojo for a couple of weeks now. Though first impressions are somewhat lasting, Sanosuke had turned a different chapter in the lives of those at the dojo with a change of wanting to fight with Kenshin to a wandering freeloader! He did have his moments of making his presence useful by chasing away unwanted visitors. But grabbing a free meal and having a huge tab at the Akabeko beef hot pot restaurant was dishonor on a new level.

Yahiko made a move for his shinai, raw rage playing on his young countenance. Before he could smash the rooster-head to a pulp, Sanosuke threw both hands up apologetically. "Remember, boy, it was _you_ who ran into _me_!"

"Waste of my time," Yahiko combatted. "Hn, Kenshin, when is dinner gonna be ready?" he whined.

"Soon enough, Yahiko. I already got the miso started, and the rice is just about done. I take it you are going to be eating with us tonight, Sano?"

"I am sure Jou-chan won't mind one bit at all!" Sanosuke beamed, heading in the direction of the kitchen. "If ya don't mind, I am gonna check in on the miso!" Kenshin nodded.

Yahiko sighed. "Once a freeloader, always a freeloader." The comment died on his lips. "I am going to get ready for dinner."

Kenshin turned his attention to the bath. He knew better than to interrupt Kaoru when she was cleaning up. Best if he went back to cutting the various vegetables for the soup and get the fish gutted.

Kaoru had heard the entire conversation among the three. The fire did heat the water some, and she took advantage of stealing time to herself for a bit longer. Coming back from a long day of training rendered her a sweaty little girl, her gi and hakama smelly. That wasn't very lady like. Finally getting out of the water, Kaoru made for her kimono after drying herself. Better check on dinner; maybe she can take some time to help Kenshin. She blushed at the thought of her making dinner next to the man she had fondly grew attached. She inwardly bopped herself on the head. There was no way she should think such feelings!

Kaoru delicately trudged to the kitchen, the wanderer's back to her. She padded quietly, as if not to disturb Kenshin's minstrations on the vegetables. She heard him humming as he deftly and efficiently chopped some carrots. It was so disconcerting to know that Kenshin could be so delicate and forceful with his hands-to have been the once shadowed assassin for the Ishin Shishi, to being a humbled _unworthy_ pacifist who cooked up the most delictable meals. Kaoru thought briefly about the Ishin Shishi; this was just going to be another one of her mental tirades where she tried to find the right words to question his past, but to no avail she knew he wouldn't bring forth any information. She stood in place.

Kenshin felt her aura heading in the direction of the kitchen the moment Kaoru stepped out of the bath. Though she was very quiet, he could hear her approaching. Head bowed, burnished-copper bangs hiding his eyes, he grimly smiled. She stopped in her tracks and was uncomfortable. He knew she wanted to ask of something.

"Kaoru-dono?"

"Ken-Kenshin?" She was being stupid again. Being a child.

She was barely inaudible. "Yes?"

"I've been meaning to ask you something..." She fought to say the right words. He met her with a quizzical glance. But no other words came out.

"Is something amiss, Kaoru-dono? You know you can tell this one anything." She met her pensive gaze with his wide, questioning violet eyes.

"...when will dinner be done?" She threw a fake smile in his direction.

"Oro?"

"What do you mean, oro? Kenshin!"

"It's nothing, this one was just thinking you had something worth discussing."

"Well, come to think of it, I did have some stuff I wanted to talk to you about..." She was evading the topic completely. "When is Sanosuke ever going to repay us for all the food that he steals-"

"Now, now! Sano doesn't steal food, that he doesn't! He merely shares!"

"Nice choice in words, Kenshin!" She snagged the carrot from his hand, her free one clenching the knife from his other. She began to torment the remaining carrots, cutting them in various shapes Kenshin had never seen. She was getting angry. "I can't believe I have to put up with that rooster-head! I swear it Kenshin, I don't get any appreciation here-"

Kaoru was interrupted by Kenshin's vice-like hold. He was behind her now, and the hair on the nape of her neck stood on end. The thin fabrics of her yukata and his magenta gi were the only barriers between the two. She could feel him breathing down her neck; he was _deathly_ close. If it were not for Kenshin being directly behind her, and the counter infront, she would have found a new home for the knife in Kenshin's thick skull. She wasn't that bad at cooking, let alone the simple task of decapitating carrot tops! So why in Haetes was he taking the cooking utensils away from her.

Before she could protest of his lightning fast movements in taking the knife from her, he spun her around, both hands firmly planted on her shoulders. She didn't know whether to be afraid or surprised, but her blue eyes were met with his viol-did he have a trace of amber in his eyes?

Kenshin gave her a small scowl. "Kaoru-dono, please don't belittle yourself, ever. It does not suit you, that it does not." It was Kenshin the wanderer speaking, but the rurouni would never be this forceful. Locking his eyes with hers for a moment more, he flicked his gaze to the carrots. "This one has it from here. Please gather Yahiko and Sano."

As she made to exit the kitchen, her form almost slumped with dejection, he called to her again. "Kaoru..." he said her name this time, differently. No honotific. More, assertive, and assured. "Thank you..." She turned to face him, and saw his radiant smile. "Thank you for everything so far in the month I have stayed here."

Kaoru studied his face. He was smiling at her with all his heart.

"Kenshin... you idiot!" He was taken aback by her fiery spirit. Kaoru was inwardly happy he finally smiled a genuine smile. "Don't you give me another 'oro'!"


	3. Once Again

**Author's Note: So, once more, this is a collection of drabbles, writings, and one shots. I wrote this today, as a journal entry. I am challenging myself to jot down, craft, or whatever I can in a span of 20 minutes, and yes, this is a raw drabble, nothing edited, or changed. I let the words spew onto paper to see what I can create. I personally like it, and did it to attempt a writing style that focused on broken syntax, scattered thoughts, plays with alliteration, and tried-though miserably in 20 minutes-to conjure up as many plain nouns as possible to create a strong appeal to emotion. Okay-I am going to stop.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin; in my dreams I own Battousai though =)**

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**Once Again**

* * *

Standing there-with that empty look on your face, once again-hurts me. So cold, so far, so distant. And to think-but what was there to think about, once again?-time had changed the both of us. For you, I know it is for the better, your face as young as the day I met you-your passionate words, bright, righteous, chiming bells that would never leave my mind, that plane of white imagined where you could never see what I want you to see. What I want you to hear. I want you to _feel_, but not now. Not at the moment. Maybe I will get the chance. But I don't deserve that chance.

I don't deserve that feeling, that epitome of human emotion-what is it that they call it again?-it's hard to piece together. I am standing there as well-better yet, I am that third shadow-and in that realization, I know it scares you, to know, to feel, that I am there, even though I am just as distant. Standing there-I know it hurts you, and I can see you reaching for me, your arms a stark reassurance of the promise your shelter can give to me, the promise of never being alone, the promise of my never having to wander off, once again-but you make this so hard.

The smell of blood-it lingers, poisoning, penetrating, permeating, permissive of only one thing: to stain-it mars even the greatest of us, even the lowliest of us. It's a blemish, a blight, a blot. And because of this, I am tainted, tattered, tarnished-old. The cross-shaped scar on my left cheek, my hair-the same hair your delicate, fragile, innocent, steady, youthful hands fervently touch-is red like no other; it's a replication of the blood my victims cried for me, pools and rivers and lakes and endless angry seas that never ceased to die, even in dreams I am consumed, the smell disgusting, distasteful, dreams dissatisfied with my failed attempts of atonement.

It hurts-because all I am is, all I am _doing_, is standing there, once again. You give me that smile-have I ever told you how innocent that smile is, how innocent your ideals are, how innocent _you_ are? In my mind, I scream it, I scream about you, everything that is you, everything that I cannot have-maybe I can have you one day, but who will be the deciding factor for my want? Better yet, will you want me that way? You don't see the demon I am, the ugly mongrel that sifts through the nastiness of scraps which is the Meiji government; I am the darkness that made the skies cry for several years, the tear drops an array of frustration, confusion, idealism, naivety, severed limbs, severed heads, arms, legs, human dreams and emotions cut down by a cynical barbarian.

I was used, a tool. I am dirtied, I am nothing, I am everything-but to them, only, to them, I am something-and then there is you. What am I to you, I want to know?

I can hear you crying from the outside of your room-once again-and it is killing me. I know I am the cause of your pain. You are going to have bad dreams, once again.

The only thing I can offer to you-just for the time being, I hope-is my protection.

Kaoru-Dono, I am sorry-once again.

But tonight, will be another night that I stand watch outside of your door, once again...


	4. The Woes of Buying a Bed

Author's Notes: So here's another one-shot I wrote over the course of the last few days. Hopefully I've established well into the last few "chapters" this is a collection of writings, ramblings, drabbles, one-shots, etc. My initial intention for this was a writing excercise that I expanded by a couple of pages. Instructions were to have a situation where some characters were faced with an embarassing situation dealing with the following in mind: bed, relationships, anxiety with shopping, innuendos, condominium, and mentioning of a dog. HAH. Very random and very weird. I went for a minimalistic prose style, with elaborate syntax and use of broken sentence structure. Tried for maintaining active voice from an omniscient narrator's perspective, and minor adaptations of rhetoric such as hyperbole, assonance, and other mediocre crap. Onward!

* * *

**The Woes of Buying a Bed**

One-shot by PinayTiger

* * *

There are many ways to die when it came to life; Kenshin was better off getting hit by an inexplicably large runaway elephant-with its ears spread so wide apart that you can see the ugly lines, folds, creases, and dents on its even uglier hide of rubber, thick gray-than standing at the corner of Shop Till You Drop Avenue and Best Bargains Here Lane. The terrible journey to this place-the ever evil _mall-_left him exhausted, enslaved even. It started with the revving of his sleek, black Audi A8 sports-car, the red-head sighing in absolute anguish with having Kaoru drag him along while she shopped. Driving wasn't the hardest part of the matter, but it was enough to kill the man for a moment; he could recall shopping lasted an entire ten hours prior to this excursion.

Kaoru had an interesting taste in the things she bought, spending hours finding the right "fit". A bonding period, she put into perspective when Kenshin shifted his car into gear, the black blur speeding off, its engine roaring sweet melodies across the sea of cars gushing together in a myriad of colors on the I-5 North.

"You really don't have to be like this, Kenshin. I don't see what the big deal about shopping is; quite frankly, I have even heard it is very therapeutic." Kaoru twiddled with the loose ends of her hair as the silent man next to her frowned, again shifting the car into gear. "And stop driving so fast, you idiot! I don't want to get killed!"

Kenshin sighed. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave, that we will!" He flashed a sincere smile over his shoulder, tilting his head slightly to survey her slumped form pressed lazily against the black leather seat. Damn Audi for endowing their cars with overly plush, and overly soft black leather chairs. "What are we getting, anyways? It's rather abrupt."

"Kenshin! We've already discussed this! Don't play innocent with me!"

She was right-it was hard to evade the topic altogether, but things seemed a little tense between the two since the day he asked her to move in. They've been together for several months, but the day Kaoru accepted his invitation to live in his newly purchased condominium was the day their relationship staggered in a different direction, and one Kenshin was _not_ prepared for. It _was_ his best friend's idea-_Damn it, Sanosuke_...-and it was bad enough that Kenshin could not get Kaoru out of his head without Sanosuke exploring the possibilities of things she could easily expose herself with being a young, independent-and attractive-woman living downtown in the Gaslamp Quarter.

Oddly, the commute from the condo to Kaoru's apartment on F Street entailed a quick, smooth sail over the Coronado Bridge, taking no more than fifteen minutes (eight on a good day when Kenshin pushed the pedal with sheer audacity). To mar Downtown San Diego as dangerous was out of the question; Kenshin knew it was his silent protectiveness over Kaoru that did him in, gladly tossing her a spare key to his place, having knowledge that she was in a _very _nice part of this gorgeous city. But the perks of living with her boyfriend greatly outweighed a life of solitude, and Kaoru couldn't help but crush an unknowing Kenshin to her chest, her hug a suffocating trap squishing and squeezing and squelching the living daylights out of him.

Routinely on Tuesdays, the two met at a local dojo to spar. Kaoru's family made a modest living teaching martial arts, her father's business being one of the more prominent jujutsu programs found throughout San Diego County's school district. Likewise, learning different fighting styles pounced Kaoru like a cat on a mouse. At first, she was delicate when handling pressure from her father at such a young age, and finding a bokken in her hands taught her to drop all barbies and dolls and flowers. Kenshin, from her understanding, had a deep background in kendo, knowing very well how to use a sword. The man was also good at hand to hand combat, among other things...

Kaoru's reverie was cut short as Kenshin swooshed passed a red Toyota Camry doing a sluggish sixty-five or so miles on the "fast lane". She glared icy daggers at the man, who in turn took his hand off it's temporary pedestal on the stick shift and rested it on Kaoru's knee lovingly. "If you go any faster, I swear-"

"Which mall are we going to, again?" By golly he was notorious for evading certain subjects, but he was fueling Kaoru's fire by interrupting her.

"'Sposed to be Fashion Valley."

Kenshin knotted his brows. "And Horton Plaza wasn't any good?"

"Are you questioning my fashion sense now?" He almost lost control of the vehicle with Kaoru's abrupt lash of words. He also felt the spit fly from her mouth.

"No, no," he lightly chirped, throwing his hands up apologetically, causing Kaoru's eyes to grow the size of saucers at his dangerous maneuver.

She smacked a palm to her head, the sound resonating throughout the immaculately kept car interior. "Kenshin, you know I am fond of you, but I swear-" she was now shutting her eyes -"you will be the death of me."

Both hands back on the wheel, he flashed amused violet eyes at her, signaling to merge on the I-8. He brought his focus back to the road, reading the appropriate exit: _Qualcom Way then Camino del Rio N._

Parking _was _the hardest part to shopping. Kaoru was irritated that Kenshin decided to stick his car in the far east side of Fashion Valley Mall's parking garage, having to trudge a miserable 1600 feet to the nearest department store. Her nostrils were flaring, and she refused to hold his hand until her eyes grew wide with envy upon seeing the cutest pink sweater-one of those _things _with dangly pink and purple threads, with cotton candy shaped linings around the hood-and clasped her hands gruffly with Kenshin's, dragging him along.

He wondered if his ranting about parking so far away swam to one ear, pouring sourly out of the other.

_Again _with the last shopping jaunt, some bullheaded idiot smashed a dent the size of Kentucky to Kenshin's previous car. He remembered asking the stranger to graciously supply all necessary information to file a claim with the offender's insurance company, but was greeted with the stench of alcohol on the opposition's clothes and breath, and something shiny lurking underneath the man's belt. When Kenshin turned his back to the upset man-actually, the guy was madder than shit-to grab a pen and paper to jot down some names and numbers, his hair stood on end.

Just as soon as he heard the man's gun cock, Kenshin was at him, speed faster than eyes can see, and the man was on his butt in a daze. Luckily Kaoru was already miles and miles ahead, lost in the vast avenues and boulevards of clothing inside some store. Too bad for the drunkard, all Kenshin wanted was his poor car fixed.

The only differences this time were Kenshin being towed like a bad car burnt to oblivion, ready to serve as scrap metal, and Kaoru not charging _his _credit card in the first twenty minutes. Owning a Kamiya Kaoru was as easy as building the Eiffel tower, was as easy as skinning an extinct animal. Owner's manual and all suggested shopping, food, and nice shiny things helped in diffusing a mad Kaoru, Kenshin always a step ahead.

Soft, gentle, and very aware violet eyes surveyed all the stores the couple passed. His confusion was growing, and he planted his feet firmly to stop Kaoru's hauling.

"So, about us 'discussing' this already-just what is _this_ that you so speak of?"

Kenshin could hear the girl's breathing become louder. "Kenshin! Am I just going to sleep on the couch in the spare bedroom for the rest of our lives?"

"Oro?"

That was right, Kenshin wholeheartedly forgot that his current bed could only fit him comfortably. It was a full sized bed-and both _barely_ passed the five foot mark as far as height was concerned-but to have one crammed in the corner was a battle neither wanted. The first night had been pretty bad, he admitted to himself.

Kaoru never had too much _stuff _other women her age did (clothes were a different story; the previous summer entailed Kenshin renting out a private storage just for her articles of apparel). Kenshin was at work for a short shift, when his ecstatic girlfriend threw in box after box after box of her belongings. When he came home, she was sprawled listlessly on the comfy black leather recliner (of course she had to choose _his _favorite chair), snoring the ugliest serenade. It's been about a week, but Kaoru spent most of the nights sleeping on the couch, Kenshin's proffered invitation to the bed always shunned.

By the time Kaoru stopped swooning an overly expensive Gucci bag in a store window, Kenshin pulled her forcefully to his chest, easing her into a secluded alcove.

"Are you aware that we're in public, Kenshin?"

"I do; but I'm curious if you're ready for this..."

Kaoru felt her heart skip a beat. "Are you scared?"

"I'm not," Kenshin sighed softly, but the blush on his face was far too evident of his slight discomfort. He was lying to her. Her eyes took on a shade of blue brighter than sapphire, and she eased her hand to cup his cheek. Her scrutinized look begged him for the truth. Kenshin pressed his palm on her hand lovingly, "Okay. I'm-I'm a little... it's that I'm not used to this."

"We can always throw out the couch in the spare room and get a second-"

"No need. If Ayame and Suzume want to stay over, there wouldn't be any place to put a spare futon on the floor. You know Suzume has a thing with sleeping on the floor to keep nightmares away," Kenshin smiled, tracing Kaoru's lose hair with his eyes.

"I've heard of people getting a couch or something that folds out into a futon."

"That's probably not necessary either," he afforded. Spinning on his heel, Kenshin looped her free hand about his, and started back into the flow of heads bobbing here and there, gushing from one store to another. "Besides, who's going to keep you warm at night?" He shot Kaoru a quick smirk, a jolt of amber mixing in his eyes.

Kaoru blushed. "I-I..."

Kenshin shook his head amusingly, his turn dragging her to the appropriate store: _Macy's would be an okay place for this_, he voiced inwardly.

Upon entering the store, both Kaoru and Kenshin had a slight color of red infused on their shy faces. They boarded the escalator to the second level, the darn thing making the ugliest of sounds: to think that a department store who charged outrageous prices on the cheapest looking merchandise could at least grease up their magical moving stairway. Kenshin examined why such a place would adopt the use of so much white and red. It made his hair stand out.

Seconds later, they were near the furniture section of the store.

Kenshin dragged in a low, lingering sigh. "So what size did you think we need?"

Kaoru hopped on a bed that looked like it belonged to the king of England. She marveled at the soft, white, plump, and cotton-like feel to the bed. "This looks good," she threw herself back, landing on the mountain of pillows, "maybe a Queen or King?"

Kenshin stepped to her, placing a hand on the quilt; he pressed down, the red and yellow silkiness cushioning his testing touch. "It's quite soft, that it is!"

"Is your room big enough for a King?"

He nodded in response.

It took all but an hour before both found a suitable bed. It was a question of how comfortable, or how affordable, and then finally, how they were both going to spend their nights. A very irritating store clerk voiced her (Kaoru was convinced it was a guy) opinion on the matter, and suggested sheets and pillows and other useless accessories to go with the purchase. Kaoru didn't mind furnishing their furniture, but she was definitely getting into it, and the mound of accessories grew to an astounding size as Kenshin slipped his wallet from the back of his pant pocket slowly, silently.

He looked to the brown leather-cracked, jagged, unearthed-and hesitantly took out his credit card. The store clerk kept piling up useless crap. The voices blurred behind him.

"So what is your name-"

"Kamatari, honey," the clerk chirped quickly to Kaoru.

"Kamatari! Ok, so, pillows and pillow _cases _aside, is there anything else we could get to spice things up in the bedroom?" Kaoru didn't realize the way her words spewed from her mouth, and saw a shade of crimson creep on Kenshin's face. "I-I mean..."

"Why of course there is! Am I to assume you guys are taking your relationship up a notch, and in need of some action? Flaming red and hot, blazing pink," Kamatari rushed to a gondola, gruffly yanking some materials off the shelf, "are _great_ colors to set the mood!"

"Uhh-" Kaoru reached a hand toward Kamatari, who was now buzzing toward a set of candles and incense.

"Sandalwood and lavender, very calm and very relaxing smells! We have a set of both smells in tea lights as well; those are great for setting a romantic mood! Do you see that over there?" The clerk extended an arm to a black, matte finished headboard. "With the stability of that over there, your husband has something to grab a hold of while you-know-what-goes-down. Just don't place any candles on it, you sure don't want wax burning you, honey, unless, well, that's what you like. I don't judge." Kamatari winked at Kaoru.

Kenshin's eyes were the size of the moon, and he thought about how much pain he would endure if he rushed to the nearest wall and smashed his head against it a few times. The manager would understand why so many holes cratered the white-washed walls.

"Oh, we're not married..." Kaoru fumed with embarassment. "We've only been together a little over a year now, if I recall."

"A year! Well you certainly look the part of wifey."

"Well... I do hope that one day we could be, well, ya know?" Kaoru was blushing now, making noises that Kenshin thought were something akin to giggling. It could have been gurgling, but the redhead couldn't make out the details of the conversation.

Kamatari left Kaoru in a pensive state of her dreaming, and flocked to Kenshin. "So, word has it you are the penis in the relationship!"

"Excuse me?"

"Wifey says we are going to charge this on your card!"

"We're not married, I'll have you know!"

Kamatari snatched the piece of plastic from Kenshin's hand, winking at the man. "Just look at her." He totaled up all the merchandise on a computer behind a counter, punching in the numbers from the card. "So happy."

Kenshin felt a sweat drop from his brow, head lolling to the side out of sheer vexation. Just where was all this going? In the back he could here Kaoru voice her daydream.

"But what about our kids, we surely can't stay in _that _hole he calls a home! And pets, we need pets-maybe a cat, or a dog! Maybe we can call him Kenny... that's right, name him after Kenshin! Ayame and Suzume can have some cousins to play with in a few years!" Kaoru blushed, spinning and dancing in her own world. She laughed and squealed with excitement. "I'm going to be Himura Kaoru, teehee! That sounds so good-but, wait, Kamiya Kenshin sounds just as good! We can relive my dad's ambitions of jujutsu training and martial arts through Kenshin! Ohh, the _possibilities!_"

After the crunching and pounding of whatever it was Kamatari was typing ceased, and a distinct _beep _clanked from the ancient relic of a computer in front on the clerk, he spat, "Done deal! Total comes out to six-thousand-four-hundred-and-eight-centavos!" Kenshin bit his lip with the clerk's failed attempt at Spanglish. But the amount didn't hit him.

He took the receipt from Kamatari's hand, and snatched a pen rather carelessly to sign his life away on the receipt before reading the total. "ORO!"

"What? What the hell does 'oro' mean?" Kamatari frowned.

"K-k-kaoruuuuuuuu!"


	5. A Hitokiri's Sonnet

Author's Notes: Happy New Year! Here's to another year in the amazing Kenshin fandom. Anyways, for this, I wanted to create a Spenserian Sonnet with Battousai and his actions that accompany the life of a manslayer, but reflect on the guilt and the finality of his chosen path to atonement. I'm not thoroughly convinced I stuck to the use of a mock _volta_ or that I even remained true to the Iambic Pentameter, but each line _is_ 10 syllables.

**A Hitokiri's Sonnet**

Blood, lingering, longing, it never hides;

Katana, death, the stench so merciless.

Battousai, the name haunts, never subsides;

Peace and happiness, false hope and false bliss.

Ideas- shaped- shifts; with steal do they kiss.

Screaming, voices die; amber, sees the dead.

Thoughts, obsessive, daunting, hard to dismiss.

Scarlet, crimson, copper, every shade: red;

Why is this happening?-so much to shed;

Hurt, guilt is all consuming, raging fire.

Black, bleak, desolate; bones, blood, life, hearts... dead.

To protect happiness, death is desire.

The will, the need, and the meaning to smile:

Atone, repent, expiate to exile.


	6. In Shadow

Author's Note: Ok, so for this one, this was yet again a writing excercise that consisted of a short story (550 words or less), and I am surprised it turned out to be just that: 550 words in its content! My main focus on this was a lack of dialogue, a structure of conflict and crisis with resolution, and connection and disconnection with the protagonist among others he interacts with. There were some other stuff I looked at stylistically that I kept constant, but don't feel it necessary as the above. Anyways, enjoy. And please, leave a review. Onward...

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**In Shadow**

By PinayTiger

* * *

This should have been easy; at the very least, the _thought_ of it was easy. But why stall, why doubt when you already threw yourself to the wolves?-the morbidly rabid creatures snarling and clanking their bare fangs, ardently waiting for a fool to fall victim to their bloodlust. But he wasn't a part of those hungry, ignorant mongrels, the smelly beast that was the Ishin Shishi, who's throbbing and vicious and unrelenting of the sword-of a way of life-was to end evil, and slay evil for a better cause. He shuddered, the wind nipping and snapping at the base of his neck that was so naked, so exposed to the elements. Oddly enough, the sun burned the horizon, and this was a sweet and sensuous summer day; you could smell the flowers and the fresh, crisp, gurgling and sloshing of a nearby river. He stood, hand resting on the hilt of his sword, clenching and sweating on the handle that paved a path to idealism. His idealism. But who was granting him this right?

He stalked through the alleys, his heavy, slow trudge a dirge of hammering and walloping on a stretch of sandy brown. His breathing grew irregular; fatigue and adrenaline washed over his stiffening form, a riptide of some unsettling emotion surging wildly. But on the outside, he was the walking epitome of a solid stone, cold, hard, rigid, static….

He'd heard stories from his master about how the smell and taste of blood lingered; you couldn't do away with it so easily, and it was a smell so maddening, revolting, and sickening, that it caked your body indefinitely. He was also a countless bystander to the songs and hymns of everyday life; he smiled, basking in the warmth of children playing on the dusty streets of Kyoto, their screams and laughter a reverberation of promise and future peace. And so, he rushed off, in search of his master's favorite sake, relishing in the happiness found on the smiling faces of strangers. But when he came home, they'd soon be fabricated enemies (master and pupil), and his training would commence.

The promise of youth was empty, but impracticality and optimism together was a drug far more potent than opium. As a married couple, the two birthed naivety and passion; as if passion was a blinding, deafening mechanism. He knew of one thing, his sword would protect the innocent, and he'd carve away oppression of the weak. But his heart's pulsation was the one melody trumpeting, and the slow, laborious, and jagged intake of breath roared viciously in his abject silence.

Just like the black envelope informed-his instructions were to move quickly, delivering his justice, Choshu's righteousness.

A bird flitted and chirped on the beautiful pink and red blossomed trees surrounding the winding, and slow rumbling river-maybe it was creek?-and nature was peaceful. A carp lashed out of the tepid water, an acrobat out of his own element, as he snagged a dragonfly that hovered carelessly and dangerously on the water's surface.

The definite click of a sheathed sword greeted a decapitated body's ears, and a crimson flower lay atop the mutilated body, which spurt that warm, precious liquor of life.

Shadowed, the assassin bowed his head, his crimson bangs masking his amber eyes. Katana kissed its first victim….


	7. Songs of the Meiji

Author's Notes: This was inspired by SiriusFan13's update for FINALLY writing in the RK Fandom (FINALLY!) She ripped this idea off kenobigirlliz who I in turn ripped this off of Sirius. She labeled it iPod Challenge. Or "Rurouni Rythm"

1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.

2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.

3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterward!

4. Do ten of these and then post them.

PinayTiger's Version: I repeated each song twice, however, so I am a fail at this. Oh well, it was still inspired! One duration of each song would have been better, but look at what my flipping ipod threw at me! A few were quite the songs to think about! Ahhhh!

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#1. All of my Life-Lenny Kravitz

It must have been one of the hardest things as a rurouni to do-to have gone with painstakingly long months of non-wandering, and opening up to the closest thing of an immediate family. The brat, the brawler, the broad doctor (as Sanosuke put it once), and then… _he_r. But to leave _her_… leave _her_ in a state of pouring her emotions the way she did, was drowning him. Suffocating. Smothering.

In over a few months, he'd never heard her cry; it was even more frustrating to witness her sagging like a wet cloth carelessly discarded to the cold, hard, lowly ground because of him. His leaving causing her all this pain.

He told her he would protect her, but he couldn't even protect her from himself. And that hurt him the most. Inside, he felt a tugging need to run to her, and wipe away her rivulets of despair. Chase away her fears, be her third shadow, protecting, nurturing, loving….

He wondered why it took all of his life to meet someone like _her._ Why it took all his life to find someone who didn't run away knowing about his bloodied past, why it took all his life to finally be graced with a genuine and heartwarming smile without any questions asked. But why did he give all that away in less than a few seconds?-his back to her, aimlessly headed for the city that birthed it all: Kyoto.

_Kaoru-dono_, he whispered in his mind.

* * *

#2. Get out Alive-Three Days Grace

Darkness finally killed what was left of the faltering sun. The chirping and chiming of children died with the faint slams and sliding of doors and gates while welcoming full night. Foolish men they were…. They were warned to stay away from shadow.

The fat one scoffed. There was nothing to be afraid of. He _did_ hire the best of all of Japan's samurai-but the fat imbecile should have known better. He clung to his sword-as if the damn thing was ever used by such a pig-and smirked. "Let's see someone try to get through the four of you…." He snorted.

Clack. Clack. Clack. The fat man stopped, his four bodyguards now a chaotic mess in trying to fend off what seemed an invisible intruder. Clack… clack…. _Clack_.

"I am here for the round one…." The voice hissed.

* * *

#3. Time After Time-Quietdrive

"That is _so_ gross, Kaoru!" Yahiko squabbled, disgusted at the yellow, golden, green pudding slopped up next to him.

Kaoru spat and cursed the Gods for whatever sickness ailed her. "I don't know what's wrong with me! The taste is disgusting!" She wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her tattered and beaten training _gi_, Megumi already to her side, babying her. After briefly examining the young kenjutsu instructor, the doctor wickedly smiled. Kaoru saw fox ears pop on the vixen's head; Yahiko could feel the heat of his trainer's stare melt Megumi's innards. "Well, _doctor_, what's wrong with me?"

Kenshin soon popped in, tofu in one hand, and a bag of various greens and reds and yellows of vegetables in the other. "Is Kaoru-dono still sick, Megumi-dono?" He offered the soon to fight women a warm smile.

"All signs of morning sickness to me, Ken-san! I'd say she is almost a couple months pregnant." The devious smile widened tenfold. "Congratulations, tanuki!" Megumi winked at Kenshin who was several shades redder than his crimson hair. The ex-hitokiri fell hard to the ground, solid as stone, his "ororororororo" louder than Kaoru's puking.

* * *

#4. Who Let The Dogs Out-Baha Men

Aoshi sat on the golden-brown polished engawa, silently sipping his tea. The sliding of the shouji met his ears, trained on Kenshin's approaching form. "Aoshi-san, this one feels maybe the party is getting out of hand…." The rurouni sat next to the solid, icy statue, and smiled, letting his legs dangle childishly over the veranda. "If you plan to get a hold of some sake, this one suggests you do it now while there are a few jugs left." Another wide-eared smile.

"And what of Misao and Kaoru?" Kenshin could feel the slight annoyance laced in his monotone question.

The readhead sighed. "Kaoru-dono and Misao-dono are enjoying themselves rather greedily, that they are." He felt a stray sweat slide down his cheek… and added: "And, the other…_women_…are crooning and hovering over Master as if he were the last dying breed of "hunk" as they put it." _And it's not helping any with Master's ego_, Kenshin inwardly voiced.

"I guess we should join them." Aoshi stamped his tea cup onto the wood rather hard, and stood in unison with the much shorter man. They slid the door open, and Misoa plastered herself rather harshly to Aoshi, cheeks shamelessly red, chucking herself full throttle.

"Aoshi-sama! Aoshiiii-saaaamaaaaaa! Aoshi-samaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The tall man took the horribly drunk Misao with him, landing hard on the cold ground. She hiccupped. "Aaaa…ooooshiiiii"-hiccup-"samaaaa…"

Kaoru followed suit, and fell atop Kenshin, straddling the confused redhead. She snaked her stiff arms around Kenshin's neck, trailing sweet fingers over heated skin, his violet eyes as wide as the white, luminous moon. "K-k-ken-shiiiin! Teeheeeeee. I want to show you something. Kenshiiiin, stop tickling me, heehehehe!" Kenshin groaned, but thanked Kami she was too far gone tipsy to notice… something….

_Oh crap_…. Kenshin grew even redder. Embarassed.

"I told you-" Kaoru slugged Kenshin rather hard, "stop. Tick…ling meeee!"

"ORO!"

* * *

#5. Poker Face-Lady Gaga

"No way, I think she's sexier than Kaoru!"

"I gotta hand it to ya, brat, this babe is pretty smoking in comparison to Kaoru. More feminine too…." Sanosuke took a hand to rub the small stubble growing on his chin in a contemplative manner.

Yahiko eyed the ex-fighter for hire in disbelief. "You _actually_ think the old hag is even the least bit attractive?"

Sano ignored the pubescent child. "This broad has a nice rack!"

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Brown eyes grew angry.

"Knockers… sake jugs, what do you think I am talking about?" Sano grunted with eyes still lingering on the approaching figure whose hips swayed seductively. "Moves her ass better than Megumi does," he whispered.

The rooster head grew cocky, and mustered up all feigned confidence to greet this strange woman. "Well, well, never saw you in these parts of Tokyo. The name's Sagara. Sagara Sanosuke!" Yahiko remained behind the safety of boxes in the nearby alley, mouth agape in disbelief with Sano's unlikely frankness. "What's your name sweetie?"

The figure blushed. "They call me Kamatari."

* * *

#6. Asylum-Disturbed

The breeze of the ocean was normally a welcoming thing-but Kaoru absently reminded her situation wasn't _normal_. She had been captured, surprised she was still alive. She felt the sound of someone walking behind her, and the hair on her neck stood on end.

"He isn't coming for you, why don't you give it up?" Kaoru could hear the indeterminate tone falter in his voice. "And if he does, we both know what is going to happen, Kamiya."

Kaoru drew in a long sigh, shutting her eyes, harnessing the tears that promised to overflow. She spun to meet wild turquoise eyes, silver-white hair a heap of spikes pointing in every direction, and the ever cynically menacing smile. "He will come," she levelly stated.

His grin curled evilly, approaching the girl, eyes never leaving her defiant blue gems. "You are so," he plastered both hands on her shoulders, permitting no movement, "frustrating."

"I'm not the psycho seeking revenge in the sickest of ways…" she whispered almost silently. Amusement glossed over his eyes, and he took a hand to caress Kaoru's cheek, smile still a devious grin.

"And you, Kamiya, cannot cook for the life of you."

"I pray you choke, bastard…."

* * *

#7. From Now on We Are Enemies-Fall Out Boy

The spar rendered Yahiko hurt, and he was ashamed to admit defeat to his pretend enemy. He gritted his teeth and glared ominously at Yutaro. The bastard had gotten better in the lapse of several months, left handed even; Kaoru had heard of Yutaro's return visit to Tokyo, and offered the boy and his guests a place to stay at the Kamiya dojo.

This, however, gave Yahiko another chance to gloat at how strong he was, trying to prove a point.

"Best three out of five!" the Tokyo Samurai screeched.

"He beat you fair and square, all three times already, idiot!" Kaoru interjected, noticing the shame and hurt cascading over Yahiko's brown eyes. Pride…too much pride, Kaoru admonished.

* * *

#8. Peace Sells-Megadeth

"What do ya mean I don't pay for my food at the Akabeko? Pffft, I have a tab open at that place that I do pay off. Now why would they even have a tab open for someone like me, if I never paid for my crap, huh Jou-chan?"

Kaoru's nostrils flared. "Well, you don't seem to pay for food here, so why should I believe what you say about other places, you monster."

"That's harsh…" he twiddled a fishbone in-between his teeth. "Well, I'm off for the day. See ya, the brat, and Kenshin at dinner?"

"Pay for your own food, dangit!"

Later at the Akabeko: "What do you mean I never pay for food at Kaoru's? Why do you think she keeps me around most meals, I contribute!"

Tsubame threw up her apron, cheeks staining red at Sanosuke's little outburst.

"Well," Tae started, picking up the soiled utensils and bowls on an empty table, "I ain't convinced one bit! You still have to pay for your stuff here!"

Grumble. Grumble. "Just one small bowl of soba, how does that sound?" Sanosuke begged.

Tae threw her chin up haughtily. "Go see Kaoru instead!"

"Nghhhhhhh…."

* * *

#9. Savior-Rise Against

I know my side hurts, but I couldn't quite put to words what happened. I remembered running from a group of people, Yahiko hopefully escaping their clutches. All I remembered was being roped down like a rabid dog, and snuck off somewhere. They used chloroform. It was near nightfall when the kid and I came back from a neighboring dojo to help train for the day. We turned a corner in a darker, dangerous part of Tokyo several blocks still close to the bridge that lead us home, when they ambushed us.

And all I can hear are the shuffling of feet, and feel a cloth covering my head. They smell of sake and cheap perfume, with that lingering smell of sex. Oh Kami, please let me be safe. If I had my bokken, if my hands were free.

I felt the heat of another approach, and they took the cloth off my head, affording me sight of my surroundings. I eyed the man levelly, I know he is pissed that I am a challenging woman, one who talked back. "Let me go! You will pay for this."

I see his lips turn an upward shape, and he snarls, "Not so fast, precious."

I can feel and hear the other men who kidnapped me. But I also feel a more dangerous presence. "Let the girl go…." The voice! So familiar, so distinctly him, but, something is different.

"Kenshin" I screech, but I am greeted with amber. Oh no. Dear, no. Not again.

With a blinding flash, and a few silver arcs, he was at them. He was near the smelly man who was closest to touching me. Sakabato was overhead, but the sharp side faced the fat stinky pig. I can't let him do this. "KENSHIN!"

His eerie amber eyes grace my form, as he shuts them slowly. When he opens them again, they're violet. "Kaoru-dono!" He rushes to me, sword clanking to the floor; my rurouni is back, my rurouni is back….

* * *

#10. Start a Fire-Ryan Star

Her heart was pounding rather slowly, the thump after thump slower with each agonizing second's passing. The side on the futon next to her was empty, icy cold, almost desolate. Her mind was running wild, and she can feel her cheeks heating. His footsteps neared, the slide of their bedroom door indicating his presence. He took his place on their bed, and Kaoru felt her blush grow hotter.

Kenshin wrapped his arms around Kaoru protectively, closing the gap between their bodies, her back to his hard chest. He breathed in her scent, and sighed out contently. "Kaoru…."

"K-kenshin?" He smiled at her innocence.

"Look at me…." Husky command. She turned on her side, eyes radiant. "Are you scared?"

"Just, unsure, I suppose…."

"We can wait, I won't make you."

"I-I want to please you Kenshin…." He smiled.

"It's all about you tonight, Kaoru," he whispered in her ear, amber flashing in his pools of amethyst. And he gave her a heated kiss, hand entwined with hers.


	8. New Beginnings

Author's Notes: Another short drabble. I think this bridges off either a previous One-Shot I did in this collection, or my other longer failed attempt at a story in terms of time, setting, and interaction. AU. I wrote this as a response to all of what is happening to Japan. I am so shocked and still have my heart out to them. Only thing I could do was donate to the Red Cross and have positive outlooks for them. They are continually in my thoughts.

* * *

**New Beginnings**

Drabble by PinayTiger

* * *

The once violently thrashing and thundering waves seethed to a caressing and sultry state on the brown blanket. But the waters were not as blue, clear, crisp, and fresh-he momentarily asked himself if that was an appropriate word to describe the seas-and looked at the obscurities darkening the water. It was a murky mess, and the imaginative smells of fire and destruction and chaos and panic wafted by his nose.

His eyes traced the lumber and litter and cans and cardboard and plastic washed ashore. Such a sight to see. He also made it a point to remember that the blacks and reds and diarrhea-green were not appropriate colors on the beach… it would be just a matter of days before everything returned to a calm state of life; and then he wondered about life across the sea.

But that thought was brutally slaughtered the instant a hard clanking bellowed from behind. Kaoru stepped out on the sand, making a beeline to Kenshin's still and silent form. He met his amethyst eyes questioningly to her worried face, noticing how she covered her mouth sickeningly. The sight was horrendous; and to think debris could wash up thousands and thousands of miles in this manner.

"I thought you'd stay in the car?" Soft, almost too soft of a voice.

She closed her eyes tight, her fists swaying to her sides. "You lingered a bit, Kenshin."

"I know; it's very devastating."

"There is still time to arrange a flight back-"

"It's not necessary," he sliced in, hoping her persuasion would die at its birth.

Kaoru watched the red head pad delicately over each and every alien form of rubble, and felt a murderous shift in his aura. She traced the goose bumps on her arm, and thought how stupid her decision was to not wear a sweater, but was sure it had a great deal to do with Kenshin's inner raging passion. He bent over, tracing a steady finger over the wet sand. He started to draw shapes and letters childishly.

Kaoru could only stare.

"It's amazing how humans are, Kaoru." Her ears leveled his words, but still found uncertainty in her understanding. "We always seem to find," he tossed a piece of cloth aside, brushing away the broken fragments of decay and destruction, leaving a clean stretch of sand, "a way to rebuild, renew, and to revitalize our souls."

Kaoru closed the gap between them. "But Japan needs-"

"They don't need me. One man cannot carve the path to renewal with something as wondrous as a natural disaster. It takes the heart of an entire nation to rebuild, and rise above this."

Kaoru sighed. Sometimes this redhead was too thick-headed for his own good. "Kenshin, but that is your home. We have already been through this conversation."

He stepped up, spinning on his heel to face her. "And?" A smile crept on his face.

"And what?" she almost spat.

"What was my reaction to that conversation?"

Her cheeks stained red, and she felt heat and electricity surging through her body.

"Y-you said you were home."

Kenshin grabbed her hand fervently, and eased her into him, holding her protectively. "I am home. Though the loss is great, fire and destruction also brings hope. Hope for Japan to rebuild, hope for Japan to reunite all of the victims and commence forward with fertility, optimism, and enthusiasm. Though it is unbearably sad, destruction and loss seems to rebuild and reunite mankind, and then…then can there be birth of a better future, of a better understanding of whatever it is we are trying to understand. I am sure sons in America are calling their mom's asking how their family is in Japan. America is donating millions and millions to the Red Cross to help out. It will all be okay in the end. Japan has had a history of becoming a better nation, and what defines a nation is its people. I am certain they _will_ get through this-it's just a matter of time."

He gave Kaoru a warm smile, and planted on sweet kiss on her lips.

"Come, love, let's go home and finish making dinner."


	9. Child's Play: Part 1

Author's Notes: This will probably be a series of short, short drabbles of a continuation of something. Lol. But, it's going to be simplistic in style, with more dialogue.

* * *

**Child's Play: Part 1**

By Pinay Tiger

* * *

"I just don't get it…."

Sanosuke threw his arms behind his head before glancing down at the significantly shorter man next to him. "Get what, kid?"

"Bird brains, Kenshin and Kaoru! No duh!"

"What's there to get, Yahiko?"

"Don't you see them? Why can't they just accept each other's feelings and get over whatever it is they're afraid of?"

There was a smile in Sanosuke's eyes, and a more sinister upturned curve to his lips. "It's not as easy as it looks, but I have a few ideas."

Yahiko's inattentiveness didn't catch the mirth in Sano's tone, and walked on stupidly. "I mean, if I had as much feelings as I did for Tsubame, I would tell her."

"You're also eleven-"

"Age has nothing to do with this!" the kid snapped, rolling up the oversized sleeve of his _gi_. Sano glared the kid down, Yahiko fisting his hand so hard that his knuckles almost bruised white. "Besides, if it did, why aren't you married?"

"Shut up, if you know what's good for you."

"…so about your ideas?" Yahiko interjected.

The taller man was so far gone in their conversation, his gaze fixed on some passerby women. Yahiko almost took a palm to his forehead. Of course, new girls on the block. What a pig.

"What's that, kid?" At least it was a start.

"Ideas. You said you had ideas for Kenshin and Kaoru. I wanna hear 'em. I'm so sick and tired of Ugly staying home all day swooning over Kenshin one moment, and then acting like a shy pathetic bag of potatoes the next! In her dreams, at night, she whispers his name, and then sometimes I hear her-_giggling_-and then sighing, or breathing heavy. Then she like-_snorts or groans_-and then kind of passionately yells his name. And I'm just lying on my futon sometimes, getting ready to break my shinai in half, and shove each end in my ears so I don't have to hear her!" He was fuming then, heat sizzling from his ears.

Sanosuke turned a shade of crimson, and averted his eyes to the ground. Maybe Yahiko could have left out some details to Kaoru's "dreams". "Maybe, she really must have something for our beloved rurouni."

"I don't give a damn, we need to play match maker, break the barrier, or something, because I want sleep!"

"Huh," Sano pondered. "No wonder you have dark eye bags. Here I thought you were either doing drugs, or running off to whore houses."

The two approached the beef hot pot restaurant. A few children passed by Yahiko, interchanging greetings, smiles, and hand shakes. Sano meandered to the shelter of shade, leaning against the Akabeko's wall. He wiped the thin, sticky film of sweat from his forehead, and grunted. It was almost lunch time, Sano nor the kid had money, and it didn't help he was attached to the wall of the restaurant. He could hear Yahiko ending small chat with the neighborhood kids, and also hear the simmering of beef hot pots, but the grumbling of his stomach was thunder on a glorious, sunny day.

Yahiko waved his friends goodbye, and as he turned to Sano, scowled. "I am _not_ opening a tab up for you!" He made a beeline to the entrance of the Akabeko. "So go home! And not the dojo, I'm talking about _your_ home!"

"I thought you took up the job offer so you can eat as much beef soup as ya want?"

"Actually," Yahiko threw on an apron, spanking off dirt and grass from his clothes, looking more presentable. "I got this job to offset the amount of what little money Kaoru has to feed Kenshin and the rest. I do get free food, but that is beside the frickin point!" Just as Yahiko was about to turn away, and start his shift, Sano yanked him by the hair. "What the-"

"I'll play match maker with you-"

"There's gotta be a catch!"

"Give me all the beef hot pot I want, and then you and I can try to get Kenshin and Kaoru together…."

"It can't be _that_ simple…."

"You're right, I give you credit for not seeming as if you were born yesterday." Yahiko was wondering if Sanosuke lost his brain, and stepped back as the tall man knelt to his level. "You do value your sleep right?"

All the kid can do was nod.

"Then meet me by my place after your shift-and don't forget the food."


	10. Child's Play: Part 2

**Child's Play: Part 2**

By Pinay Tiger

* * *

"Hey, bird head!" Knock. Knock. "I said, bird head! Wake up!"

Sanosuke groaned at Yahiko's incessant pounding, and threw whatever was nearest his futon in the door's general direction. It shattered to pieces-_Fuck it all...I just want sleep after _that_ kind of night. _He was too far gone in his own hang over, praying Yahiko would go away; maybe disappear in the same fashion his sake did...

"I am not in the mood, kid. Come back in a few hours!"

Sanosuke could feel the tension boiling on the other side of the wall, but tossed his blankets overhead, banishing the unwelcome rays of sunlight. "It has been two days now, and you have not even made an _attempt_ to get Kenshin and Kaoru together!"

Sano knew this was going to be a losing battle, and groaned as he plopped on his back. He gave Yahiko a muffled yell-sounded more like a disgruntled oink than anything-and told the kid to wait a few moments for him to get decent. He grabbed a dirty shirt, cursing for not being able to have a handy rurouni around the way the Kamiya dojo did, and swung his door open only to be greeted by a scowling preteen. "Is that for me," he half-yawned-half-greeted the boy. "That's real sweet of you bringing me some food; could ya do me a favor next time? Get me something different. A man can only take so much of the same-"

Yahiko was now mocking the taller man. "Yeah, yeah! A man can only take so much of the same food. It's called," he was now flailing his arms around animatedly causing Sano to laugh, "variety! It's called variety!"

"Guess once is enough. Good. Kaoru's right: you're a quick study."

"Here," the boy almost tossed the hot contents of soup to the ground. "It's the same old house special. So why in the hell have you been avoiding me-other than accepting your food the last two days?"

Sanosuke took his free hand to rub his temples-it was more a habit out of frustration, but probably easier to explain to a dumb child that his slight alcoholism was getting the best of him. Plus, it didn't help that the child was literally barking up the wrong tree. And how Sano wished he could hang the child on whatever tree that was.

"I wasn't trying to avoid you." He lied. He meandered to the communal bench, and patted the seat next to him. Yahiko followed suit; he grabbed a pair of chopsticks from his pocket and handed it to Sano. "So, anything you want me to know about?"

"Like what?"

"How is Kaoru doing?" Sano began eating the noodles, his attention partially fixed on Yahiko.

"She's still giddy, and she still makes the weirdest noises. I haven't gotten more than ten hours of sleep the last two days. Plus it does not help that someone who said would help me is nowhere to be seen or heard of unless he comes running for some dinner."

A smile graced Sano's lips. "I figured it was best for you to do your homework. It makes perfect sense to me," he cast a quick glance at Yahiko; the boy still glowered. "You go home and _observe _what's going on, then I in turn diagnose the problem and work out a plan. Besides, you know I am useless unless I have food in me. So what's Kenshin's agenda for the day?"

"It's Sunday. He usually does laundry and wipes down the whole dojo while Kaoru does some grocery shopping. But funds have been tight lately, and I have not gotten my pay from the Akabeko. So I honestly don't know what's going on." Yahiko's gaze was fixed on the table, his eyes tracing the nicks and cracks that the relic adorned. "Kaoru has been complaining of back pain lately...and some parts of her body hurting..." he trailed nearly silently. Sano didn't chew his last mouthful of beef, and nearly choked as he swallowed whole. He could feel his cheeks get red. _What on earth is she doing to hurt that bad?_ "I thought I heard Kenshin slide the door to his room open and closed several times the last couple of nights too," Yahiko sighed. "Probably worried sick about Kaoru..."

Sanosuke jumped up at that last statement, pouring the hot broth all over his pants. "Fack! What in the _hell_?"

Yahiko jumped up, surprised. "What, are you not fully functioning after a night out?"

Sano took a hand to rake his hair sloppily. "Something like that..." He ran back to his house to change, and look less like a hobo and more like the street brawler he was known as. He noticed in his mirror that his cheeks were still red, and cursed for being the perverted bachelor he was. More than anything, suspicion was clouding his better judgment, and his thoughts were racing in a multitude of directions trying to figure out why in the hell was Kenshin creeping around at odd hours. Especially with Kaoru's latest ordeals.

Yahiko hollered from behind an alley, and motioned for Sano to follow. Sano took off in a sprint, nearly tackling Yahiko to the ground. "So what's the plan, Sano?" Yahiko had the largest, most sinfully oblivious eyes the older man ever witnessed.

"Time for us to play spies. Let's head straight to the dojo and find out what the is going on between the two of them."

"Nothing..."

"What do you mean, "nothing"?" Sano was heaving, trying to match his speed with Yahiko's sprinting legs.

"I told you, they need to just get together and talk about how they feel. They are totally oblivious to each other's feelings!"

Sano let out a gasp, and Yahiko took it as acknowledgment and acceptance that nothing was going on between the two at the Kamiya household. They rushed down the dirt road, swimming wildly in desperation's pool. They were about to cross the bridge that led to the dojo, hoping to solve the group's mini crisis. But even then, Sanosuke's interest and curiousty piqued.

* * *

"Ohhhh, Kenshinnnnn!" Kaoru chirped melodiously. "I think I am just about done with today's workout!" She threw a devious smile over her shoulder, and wiped the sweat off her forehead. "I'd like that bath now!" Her gaze never left the ever-so-happy wanderer as he hummed a happy, harmonious tune of his own. His lavender eyes met with hers, as he graciously prepared the bath-house.

"I take it that you're feeling better, Miss. Kaoru?"

Kaoru danced toward the bath-house, undoing her ponytail. "I sure am! I feel like a newborn child-it is as if I have never had as much energy as of late!"

"I'm glad I could be of service to you!"

"You always are, and thank Kami for your blessed presence in my life."

The two went on about their business, enjoying eachother's company. But the eyes peeping through various holes on the outer wooden walls grew when they witnessed Kaoru give Kenshin a hug.

"I thought you said there was nothing going on between them, ya' idiot."

"Come on, Sano! Do you really think that one pathetic hug like that would justify a relationship between the two?"

"Keep it lower, or else I will make that pip squeak voice of yours die to a hush."

"You're not a very good thinker too, are you bird head? How do you suppose we get passed a guy who used to be an Ishin Shishi? And what's worse, he was Battousai the Man-slayer. He's got better ears than that one stupid dog you brought here months ago."

Sano stood, walking toward the entrance of the dojo. "I've got an idea. You need to go running in there; find something to do with Kenshin. I'll try to sneak up on Kaoru and listen in on her while she bathes. Give me about half an hour."

"Are you nuts?" the child seethed, clenching his fists. "Ugly's not gonna let you spy on her while she's naked!"

"Chill out-I'm only gonna listen in on her, and see if she makes any..._noises._"

Yahiko glanced Sano up and down, contemplating before running off for Kenshin. "You have an hour at most... I really don't know what to do to keep Kenshin busy for very long!"


	11. Child's Play: Part 3

Author's Notes: October 17, 2011. I'm going to warn that there is some obscene humor that other's might find offensive. It's the use of accepted vernaculars, slander, and lewd sexual humor. So hopefully it does not offend people.

**Child's Play: Part 3**

By PinayTiger

* * *

"H-hey, Kenshin?"

The red-head dropped his washcloth and took a brief moment to stand. "Yes, Yahiko?"

"I-I need to talk to you about something." Yahiko bowed his head, cheeks auburn with confusion, embarrassment, and probably idiocy theatrically staged. What in the world was he doing anyways, going along with Sanosuke's barely thought out plan? "I've been meaning to discuss somethings with an older man."

Kenshin eyed the boy cautiously, not too sure what harvest this conversation would soon cultivate. Instead of standing like an inanimate lump on the ground, he motioned the boy to come closer, smiling. "What's on your mind? This one is here to listen."

"It's kinda complicated-"

"Now, now, nothing is ever truly complicated unless you allow it to be. Let's have a seat and discuss whatever it is that is vexing you. You are still very young to have anything bothering you, that you are." That was the genuine-though awfully mundane-voice of an honest and engaging Kenshin. The hapless rurouni hopped atop the newly polished engawa, slipping off his sandals to plop on the dirt. Yahiko not once made eye contact, and sat to Kenshin's left.

"The last couple of days, I have been searching for answers about many things, Kenshin."

"Oh," he hummed. "What of?"

Yahiko was silent for a brief moment, the older man waiting patiently. "You know I am gonna be a teenager here any day now, right?"

The wanderer nodded.

"Uhhh, Kenshin... where do babies come from?"

"Well, Yahiko," the ex-assassin started, taking a hand to rake through his burnished copper hair, "a man and a woman who find true love, generally get together. After they understand fully that they are made for each other, their devotion and commitment on both a physical and spiritual level grants them a child. And that there is usually how babies are-"

"Cut the crap, Kenshin," Yahiko interjected.

"Huh?"

"I _really_ need to know about manhood...and I'm not talking about a rite of passage. Megumi does me no good-all she ever wants is to toss medical terms at me, and call _this_ or _that_ a _thing_ or _thang_. Sano is no help too; and you of all his friends should know that. How is he gonna tell me that when a 'man beats his meat' and gets-_what_ was it he said?-an erection, that you then begin to grow some balls, and start to become a true man? I want the truth-and not the kind of truth Sano preaches. He is _hornier_ than an army of unsheathed swords buried to the hilt in the sand." The boys brown eyes-a marbled mixture of determination, frankness, and resolute ambition-finally met with Kenshin's now wide purple orbs. "I guess a good starting point, Kenshin, would be for you to explain what are the best things to do when a man gets an erection."

Where was Kenshin supposed to start. "Ngh, heyuh-heh."

"I mean, you're what, twenty eight-"

"S-s-sureeeee, Yahiko."

"That means you have probably had some in the past," he asserted.

The red head felt sweat bead down his forehead, and looked away from Yahiko, trying his best to conceal his superfluity of surprise. "Actually, it's more complicated when you put things into that perspective." His voice was so squeaky, so high pitched, Yahiko almost laughed. No _wonder_ the poor guy's been confused for a woman in past battles! The long hair, the feminine outline, the dainty and agile movement...

The creaking and slight shutting of the dojo's main entrance went unnoticed. Sanosuke loomed under the hedges and shrubs, finding inadequate shelter in the shadows. Yahiko almost took a palm to his forehead, seeing a slinking and slithering Sano snake over to the bath-house. How Kenshin neither saw nor felt Sano's presence was beyond Yahiko. He did manage, however, to keep the man's attention on him.

Sanosuke dared give the child two thumbs up-just a respectful gesture to let him know he was doing well. Yahiko's jaw dropped, the kid inwardly wanting to plummet the yahoo from whatever flying dragon he was on and bury him alive. Kenshin did feel a slight shift in Yahiko's energy, and pivoted his gaze over shoulder; but the kid was faster than Kenshin, and yanked his red ponytail harsh, jerking him off the veranda and onto cement.

"_Kenshin_! You weren't paying attention!"

A sigh. "Yahiko, this one had his full attention on you."

Sano out of desperation took this opportunity to flee, and zoomed straight past the two, reaching a corner of the small house.

"Kenshin, I'm sorry!" The redhead looked up to Yahiko, dirt, slippers, and leaves decorating his face. He stared the child down. "Let's go inside, get you cleaned up, and have some tea?"

"Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?" He voiced shakily. But his eyes narrowed, and he exuded a most murderous glare. Yahiko took it all in good heart.

Sano fixed his gaze on Kenshin's back, making sure the shouji's definite snap indicated everyone's absence. Within the building he could hear Kaoru humming and the water sloshing and swishing lazily. _That was a _close_ one._

He pressed his ear to the wall, hands plastered, balancing his body. The silence was deafening, and all he could hear after a few moments was his own heart racing. The window to the bath-house stood about a foot above Sano, and he wanted to sneak a quick peek; he wasn't being dirty, no way! The Missy was a sister to him. So, to elevate himself, he stupidly climbed the mountain of logs neighboring the building, latching on to the window's seal.

His eyes steeled themselves, and witnessed the long, slender, curvature of legs crossed that remained perched on the wooden ledge to the tub. Kaoru was nearly submerged-with the exception of her head and legs. The soap enveloped her the way clouds hugged the land, and the smell of jasmine was almost too much for the peeping-Tom. She was definitely a young lady, and all the _gis_ and hakamas and robes in all of Japan were a disservice to how painfully they hid her true frame.

"No wonder Kenshin's been on her tail since day one," he whispered. The bird head thought his voice was only loud enough for him to hear, but Kaoru sat up some, her attention focusing on the outside world.

"Kenshin?" she bellowed.

Sano gave a cough.

"Oh, Kenshin! Thank goodness you're still outside." Giddy, sheepish banter. "Sweetie, can you do me a favor and toss some more wood into the fire."

"That's not the only thing she'd want plunging into the _fire_. We're at pet names now are we?" Sanosuke voiced to himself.

"-what was that about pets? You want to get a pet now, Kenshin?"

"No, no!" he croaked, doing his best to sound like her beloved wanderer. "Wood. Fire. Bath!"

"Okie-dokie! You work too hard, you know that?" She was a bit suspicious. Since when was Himura a one word, one sentence kind of man?

She listened for the fire to roar, crackle and heat the tub's water further. Nothing. Her hair stood on edge, and her sixth sense told her this was not the presence of Kenshin. It irked the hell out of her. Sano took his gaze off of the girl, looking down to make sure he was balanced on the summit of logs. When he averted his eyes back to the window, he locked with Kaoru's sizzling sapphire eyes. In that second, Tokyo underwent it's deadliest tremor.


End file.
